Ferrero Reportedly Drops Cadbury Interest

MILAN (AP) — The Italian chocolate company Ferrero International SA reportedly is not interested in bidding for British candy maker Cadbury PLC, which is the target of a hostile bid by Kraft Foods Inc.

The business daily il Sole 24 Ore reported Wednesday that Ferrero, the maker of Nutella chocolate spread and Tic Tacs, decided after two days of talks with Hershey Co. not to launch a joint counteroffer. It cited unidentified sources close to the family-run Italian chocolate maker. Ferrero had no comment.

Ferrero had said in November that it was considering a possible offer with The Hershey Co. The status of Hershey's interest was unclear.

Shares in Cadbury were barely changed at 778 pence in London.

Kraft has until Feb. 2 to win support from a majority of shareholders for its bid.